The Receiver
by ivegeta
Summary: Saiyans are born to be strong and durable against all attacks. Saiyan diseases are almost unheard of. One Z family is educated on an old legend that involves them in a big way and will change their lives forever. Rated T for eventual character death.
1. The History Lesson

Here she was, experiencing her last moments of life, and he couldn't even stand to be in the same room as her. Even at the last minute, he refused to believe his little angel was slipping away.

Bulla sat at the dinner table, silent and still. She had no appetite after her visit with her oncologist several hours prior. She couldn't have thought of a better way to spend her seventeenth birthday than vomiting at the hospital and being told to fast for the next two days. So much for birthday cake. Bulla was a different person than what she was the year before. Who was once a beautiful, blue eyed, blue locked girl was now a grey eyed and completely bald.

"I know you can't eat anything, but Dr. Kuma said the cancer should be gone by next month." The girl's mother reassured her.

"I don't care anymore. I just…" Bulla started before standing up from her chair. "Will you excuse me.."

"Are you okay sis?" Her brother, Trunks, asked as he passed through the kitchen. His sister suddenly went green in the face and within seconds, went dashing for the nearest of thirty bathrooms in the house.

She began to heave violently over the porcelain, but with no success of purging anything. She was in pain, so bad that she was screaming in between heaves. Her mother was quick to appear at her side, cooling her off with a cold cloth on the back of her nape. The demi-Saiyan was dripping with sweat and hot, but at least she was finished. She felt horrible. Horrible that her family had to aid her every hour of the day, and that her father felt so bad that he avoided her. She wanted so badly to make it all go away. The fact that she was sick. The fact that she was a reciever. A sacrifice among the Saiyan race. Bulla closed her eyes for a moment and rested upon her mother's bosom.

"So who did you say this woman was again?" Bulla asked her parents. They didn't say a word, though they were very hasty to find the person they were looking for. The landed on Kami's lookout moments later and didn't waste any time to depart the helicopter. A firm grip managed to capture Bulla's hand. It was her fathers.

Finally, they met with the very small fortune-teller, Baba, an old friend of Bulma and Vegeta's.

"Bulla…Baba is going to educate us on the history of your father's people." Bulma informed her as she gave her a small rub on the back. Vegeta grunted and turned his focus away while his daughter was briefed.

"What does that have to do with me" She shrugged, looking at them all with a confused look.

The small woman spoke. "Soon you will find out, my dear. You are quite connected with you late ancestors in more ways than any of you know." She lowered her eyes to her crystal. A faint image of planet Vegeta appeared within the ball.

"You see, a long time ago in pre-historic Vegeta, spiritual being were born. There beings are similar to what we refer to as the Greek Gods. There were three: Two brothers and a sister. The eldest brother, Dai, was the weilder of strength and courage. The second born, Kon, was the wielder of great intelligence and magic. The daughter, Ume, was the weakest and was the receiver of all pain, disease and disability." Baba paused for a moment as the family watched her, waiting to hear more.

Bulla rolled her eyes. "What does this have to do with me?"

"Well, my dear, each and every being born on planet Vegeta is a descendant of the three beings. For example, your father is a close descendent of Dai, while your brother is a closer descendent of Kon. Does that make sense?" She studied the ball even closer.

"So Ume. Why did she have to be the receiver?" Bulma asked, moving her face closer to the image on the crystal.

"Seeing as we Saiyans are not usually affected by disease or any other disability," Vegeta started before the old woman could even organize her thoughts, "Someone has to take the fall for it."

"I see you know the stories too." Baba spoke with a softer, more somber tone. "Well, Ume took that fall. Anytime a Saiyan was injured, she felt that pain. The diseases you know of on Earth were twelve times more deadly on Vegeta…. she has had _many_. All to protect the descendants of Dai and Kon from perishing and being unable to protect the planet. She died at the age of seventeen due to an illness similar to cancer. Same disease that almost wiped Goku away from Earth before being saved by an old friend."

"So we traveled all this way to learn about legends?" Bulla snapped. Her face read anger. She was getting impatient and wanted to leave, but her frustration was snuffed out by the sound of her mother's sudden sniffling. She glanced at her and could see the tears falling from her eyes and down her cheeks.

"Bulla, my dear. You are a direct descendant of Ume, the receiving soul. By blood, you are a receiver of the pain and hardship that other Saiyans cannot afford to deal with." Baba informed her, unable to look the family in the eye. "I'm sorry."

Bulma was now sobbing, Vegeta had walked away from the family, and Bulla's body was still. She was unable to move, or to even process what she had just heard. It was as if time had stopped.

"I shall be on my way. You should be going soon too. If you seek help right away, you may be able to save your daughter." Baba said as she rested a hand onto Bulma's, whos eyes were now swollen with sadness. She nodded and squeezed the elder's hands, "Thank you Baba…"

Remembering the ride home that night made Bulla cringe inside. That was the first night her father's face read something other than displeasure. It was also the first night she'd seen him comfort her mother. She also hated seeing her brother cry that night, something he rarely ever did.

Ever since that day, her perspective on life, the world she lived in, and the people she loved completely altered. She knew now that she was destined to die and she knew it was for the sake of her remaining people. Not such an easy concept to grasp at only seventeen.


	2. The Collapse

**I didn't make this known in the first chapter, but this story has a lot of back and fourth between past and present. I will try to indicate the difference so it is easier for everyone. Also thank you for the reviews!**

"Bulma, I'm so sorry about your little girl," Chichi sympathized as the two women shared a cup of tea. Bulma phased out as she stared at her half empty teacup. "Don't worry dear. I'm sure she will be just fine. She does have the blood of a Saiyan." Chichi reassured her, not realizing that THAT was the exact issue.

"I only wanted the best for my kids. It was my job to protect them, and I failed…I'm a terrible mother," Bulma sighed. Chichi patted her shoulder.

"There are some things that we just can't control in life, such as life itself. All we can do is pray to Kami that everything will work out for the best. " Chichi spoke with a soft tone. Bulma smiled and took a small sip of tea.

On the third floor of the house was Bulla's room. She and Pan, her quarter Saiyan best friend, were lying on the bed with their heads right next to each other.

"So... You went to see this lady, and she basically told you that you were going to.." Pan began.

"Something about…receiving all the pain and hardship of the Saiyans…or something like that." Bulla finished. "I don't understand it though. I only had a migraine…that was it. All of a sudden my dad starts talking all discrete like to my mom, and next thing I know we were off to Kami's lookout."

Pan turned her head swiftly to look at Bulla's face. She could see a tear beginning to form in her eye. She knew her best friend was angry. She only cried when she was angry, never for sadness.

"Hey, why don't we go shopping?" Pan suggested as she sat up on the bed. Bulla raised an eyebrow at her. Pan hated shopping, especially with her.

"You….shopping?" Bulla chuckled behind her tears. "I suppose we can give the mall a visit." She sat up and hopped from the bed. "I could use a bit of retail therapy."

Pan gave a crooked smile and sighed a bit, not realizing what she got herself into, but if it made her best friend happy, she was willing to do anything.

About an hour afterwards, the two girls were at the Satan Shopping Galleria. The two girls lingered by the hover car door as they talked to the lavender headed boy, Bulla's brother, who drove them. "I will be here for you two at six. Don't make me wait long." Trunks warned them before zooming off.

"B…it's been two hours…can we at least stop for a slice before we continue?" Pan begged as she sat guarding the endless amount of shopping bags Bulla had already accumulated.

"Pizza equals carbs, besides, I'm almost finished." She replied from the dressing room. Seconds later she came out with yet another ensemble to purchase. Pan rolled her eyes a bit and started grabbing her shopping bags. They paid for the clothes and left the store.

"I'm going to get a milkshake, okay?" Pan said as she set the bags down on a bench in the food court. Bulla sat down and waited.

"Chocolate milkshake , please," Pan requested as she handed her zeni over to the cashier. The employee handed over her milkshake and cheerfully wished her a nice day. "Thank you,sir," She said with a smile. She headed back towards Bulla with her head lowered, enthralled in her shake. To enthralled to see that Bulla had collapsed just seconds after she had left. Pan dropped her drink and ran to her friend's aid.

"Bulla? Bulla what's wrong?" Pan yelled frantically, shaking the pale blue-haired girl. She wasn't responding. "Someone please call an ambulance! Please!" Pan pleaded to the people around her. Quickly, the mall's onsite medical team rushed over and examined the girl. Pan remained at her side as she called the Briefs residence, as well as her own family.

"Hello, Mr. Vegeta? Bulla and I were in the mall and I just turned away for a minute ….and then I …she just….!" Pan was panicking terribly and couldn't organize her words. Vegeta was on the other end prompting her to slow down. "Bulla isn't moving! She just passed out!" she managed.

"I'm on my way. Stay with her." Vegeta demanded.

Within a few minutes, the entire Briefs family arrived at the scene along with Chichi and Videl. Bulma approached them first, kneeling down to try to wake her daughter. She checked her pulse and her body temperature. She was breathing, but she was unconscious, probably from the fall. Trunks and Videl were next to kneel beside the motionless girl. Trunks removed his jacket and covered his sister with it while Videl removed her jacket and propped it under her head. As everyone regained their stance, Vegeta knelt down to her. He rubbed her cheek with the side of his thumb. He could sense how weak she was. She finally woke up. She was confused and cold, but her body was sweating profusely.

"What…why are you all here?...Why am I on the floor?" She asked, barely opening her eyes. She tried sitting up but was forced to lie back down by her father.

"You collapsed, dear. Lie down for a moment. Gohan is on his way with a couple of Senzu beans." Videl assured her "You'll be better in no time!" She smiled. Bulla tried to return the smile, but couldn't help but notice Pan who had reduced herself to the corner, crying alone.

"Pan?" She said with a weak, low voice.

"She's okay. She's just a little…shaken." Videl moved towards her daughter and gave her a comforting pat on the back, only triggering her to cry harder.

"Daddy, I want to go home.." Bulma whispered. He gave out a low grunt before scooping her into his arms and cradling her against his chest, keeping her warm.

Right then, Gohan arrived at the scene with a small white bag ties with a brown string. "They were very difficult to get, but I got them." He said as he approached Bulla and Vegeta with two senzu beans. "Take this…they don't taste very pleasant, but the will help your concussion and make you feel better." Bulla nodded and popped the two beans into her mouth and chewed. He wasn't lying when he said the tasted unpleasant. Within seconds she felt much better and the aching from her head was gone. She felt good enough to walk, but she would pass up walking any day if her father chose to carry her.

"Okay…lets all get going. I'm sure the mall will be closing soon. Trunks, grab her things and we'll meet you back at home." Bulma instructed before meeting her partner and her daughter. "Lets go home," She sighed.

"Dad…Can you fly me home?" Bulla said, looking at her father with hopeful eyes. Eyes that could not be said "no" to. He responded with a mere grunt and they left the mall doors. Within seconds, they were off into the sky.

"I'll see you back at home!" Bulma called after them before saying goodbye to the Sons.

Home looked like a freak show the next day. The family doctor paid a visit to the Breif's residence to run a few tests on the girl. Bulla stared at the old man as he prepared a long needle with fluorescent fluid. The young girl gulped and glanced at her father who was right next to her.

"This will only hurt for a second, but it will defiantly hurt." The old man chuckled. Neither party found it very funny. Vegeta looked at his daughter with confident eyes and offered her hand. She took it and gripped firmly as the doctor inserted the needle into her free arm. By the expression of her face, it hurt like hell, but within seconds the pain was gone.

"This will help me see what is going on up there. Now, please rest yourself on the machine while I scan your brain." The doctor ordered. She walked over to the oval machine and sat down on the small table. She lied down as best she could and tried to relax.

"Now don't move." He said as he began the machine. It started making loud noises as it sent her towards the opposite end. Vegeta watched the procedure, slightly intrigued as the results appeared on the screen. The photo that appeared showed a colorful scan of Bulla's brain.

"Its right there…" the doctor pointed at the screen. His finger landed on a small dark area, a very different color that the other areas. Vegeta grunted and moved away from the doctor and sat in a chair distant from the machines.

"This is why you have been experiencing so much pain." The doctor informed them before pressing the button to move the table out of the MRI tunnel.

"Their only migraines right?" Bulla popped in as she was ejected from the machine.

"I'm afraid not, dear." The doctor said with a normal tone. "This is a developing illness and I'm afraid what has been done is irreversible since it is in the brain. The frontal lobe to be exact." He pressed a small red button on his monitor and it compacted into a small capsule. He took a quick glance at Vegeta who was sitting quietly, scowling coldly at the wall next to him.

"I believe my work here is done," The old man said as if nothing was wrong. He helped Bulla off of the machine and compacted it as well before leaving the room. He was stopped by a rather large arm at the door. The person belonging to that arm was less than thrilled.

"You mean to tell me there is nothing you can do to rid this wretched illness out of her head? And you call yourself a doctor.." He growled. The doctor didn't look him in the eye.

"Mr. Vegeta, I'm afraid there are certain things that are beyond my control. Doctors are only trained to do so much. We aren't super human, y'know." The doctor spoke softly. Vegeta couldn't argue, and lowered his arm letting the man go. He pounded the door's threshold slightly before leaving his daughter alone in the room. He didn't know what to tell her, or the rest of his family and friends.

"Daddy?" Bulla called out to him, slowly jogging to catch up to him. Before she made it to the hallway, he was nowhere in sight. She sighed heavily and left the room as well, turning off the light behind her. As she made her way downstairs to the family room, she could hear a faint sob in one of the guest rooms. Her body suddenly froze and couldn't decide to see who it was or keep moving and give the person peace. Though frozen, she continued to investigate with her other senses. It sounded like a man, so it wasn't her mother, and the voice was too deep to be Trunks.

_Daddy?_ She thought to herself. She shook her head in disbelief until she heard the sob again. She couldn't be sure considering her father has never showed an ounce of any other emotion besides anger and annoyance. To avoid being discovered, she quickly yet stealthily cleared the hallway until she was finally downstairs where she was alone and in peace.

**Sorry for the shitty ending of this chapter. I could not for the life of me figure out how to end it. Chapter 3 will be loads better! Please rate!**


	3. Chemo

"Chemo?" Bulla and Trunks chimed together. They both sat at the table on opposite sides of each other. Bulma was leaning against the kitchen counter drinking a cup of coffee.

"Chemo. Chemotherapy," Bulla said as a sigh escaped between her lips and her coffee mug, "Its supposed to help kill the illness."

"They can't just give me some meds and call it a day?" Bulla mumbled, resting her head into her palm. "Why does this all have to happen to me? Why do I have to …have someone else's illness?"

"I wish we knew, but that's the path that was chosen for you…and I wish...never mind." Her mother stopped, turning her body away so her children couldn't see the sadness in her face. She didn't want to say knowing about the legend many years ago would have prevented either of their existence. She didn't even want to think about something like that, but at the same time she felt selfish. She wiped away a small tear from the corner of her eye and took another sip of her coffee quietly. Things were awkward in the kitchen.

"I'm gonna go find dad." Bulla announced as she stood up from the table. She walked away from Bulla and Trunks and ventured down the hallway that led to her fathers haven, or the gravity chamber. She walked through the automatic doors and looked around the area. "Dad?" She called out. No response. He was no where to be found.

"Maybe…he's outside." She mumbled as she walked out of the side door in the gravity chamber dock. Just as she figured, he was sitting in the lawn several yards away from their house. She slowly walked towards him, putting her index fingers through the belt loop of her jeans. She approached him. He didn't bother to look up at her and just continued to look beyond.

"Haven't seen you around today." She said as she plopped down beside him.

"Hn…" Vegeta grunted, still refusing to look at her, barely giving her any acknowledgement.

"Um…" she started, sort of at a loss for words, "So…I start chemotherapy tomorrow, whatever that is. Its supposed to get rid of what's wrong with me."

"Nothing will cure you, Bulla," He spoke with an annoyed tone, raising his knee and resting his elbow on it. He really didn't want to have this conversation.

"Why can't we be positive here? Chemo will help," She reassured him, trying to promote him to be just as hopeful.

"You believe anything any idiotic human will tell you. You're just as idiot as they are, then!" Vegeta snapped, "Why don't you leave me the way you found me, child. IN PEACE!"

Bulla blinked a few times, before shaking her head and standing up, "I don't even know why I bothered." She brushed her jeans off and placed her hands on her hips angrily. "You can't even_ try_ to be positive? You act like you don't even care!"

"Go…away.." Vegeta growled in a very low, serious voice.

Bulla could feel tears welling in her eyes as he shooed her away. She was becoming just as angry and impatient. "Screw off dad," she mumbled under her breath. Vegeta abruptly stood up and met eyes with his daughter. Fire burned through his skin. He was use to being disrespected by his wife, but he would not take it from his own offspring.

"You want to say that a little louder, child?" Vegeta challenged.

"I said…screw…off. Was that clear enough, loud enough?" Bulla smiled sarcastically, before turning and walking away. She didn't get far before he grabbed her by the arm and yanked her back, meeting eyes with her again. They both frowned at each other. Bulla courageously bared her teeth at him in a failed attempt to intimidate him. "Let me go." She commanded before yanking her arm away and leaving. He didn't stop her this time. Instead, he took off by flight and was out of sight immediately.

Moments later, Bulla entered the house angrily. She passed the kitchen where her family watched her in confusion. Finally she was in her room. She slammed the door and flopped down on her bed, covering her face in the pillow before screaming into it. As she removed the pillow, tears emerged from her eyes and rolled off of her chin. She stared up at the ceiling and suddenly felt weak. She was worn out from being so angry with her father….with _everything._ She continued to let her tears flow until she lulled off to sleep.

The morning, the Breifs women found themselves at the local hospital. It was Bulla's first chemotherapy treatment, and no one was looking forward to the procedure. The doctor informed them on what to expect before, during and after the procedure and Bulla's face read less than thrilled. "Mrs. Briefs, your job will just be to make sure she recovers nicely from each treatment." The doctor said. Bulma gave a small, worried nod.

"Here we go.." The doctor warned as he prepared the IV. Bulla and Bulma both closed their eyes as she received the IV. Bulla already hated this procedure and just wanted it to be over.

Fortunately, it was over within several minutes. Unfortunately, it made her feel like complete crap. She felt like something inside of her was slowly dying inside of her and she wanted to vomit very badly. She took a deep breath and looked at her mother.

"Honey, you're face…its green. Are you okay?" Bulma asked her as she walked over to her daughter who was reclined on the hospital table. Bulla shook her head. She was so nauseous she could barely speak. She just pointed at the bucket behind her mother and held her mouth to avoid any surprise upchuck. Her mother in one swift movement grabbed the bucket and placed it under Bulla's chin and there it was. It was a horrible experience and it wasn't even over. Bulla took over handling the bucket as her body rejected its contents once again. Bulma held her hair back as she sympathized with the girl.

"How long…" Bulla started as she spit into the bucket, "will I have to deal with this?"

"Well, the side effects will usually last for an hour or less, depending on the person. But with your strong blood, you'll be fine within a few minutes." The doctor responded as he removed his surgical gloves. "Your follow up will be in two weeks. See you then." He said as he gathered his things to walk out of the door, leaving Bulla and her mother to deal with her aching side effects.

The ride home was just as terrible. Along with the motion sickness, her body was weak and she was very exhausted.

"We're almost home sweetie," Bulma said as she patted her thigh from the driver seat. Bulla sighed and shook her head slowly.

Three days after her first round of chemo, Bulla felt renewed and ready to enjoy herself again. She was due for a shopping trip, and who better to ask to go with her than her dad? At this point, _anyone_. Maybe a shopping trip alone would be fine for the day.

"Trunks!" she called out down the hallway to Trunk's room, "Can you drop me off at the mall in an hour?"

"Sure!" He shouted back.

Bulla stood up to get ready. She put on a decent outfit, nothing to fancy, and she grabbed her brush to fix her hair. "I can't wait to see what sales are going on!" She sang as she began to brush her hair , "I bet…there..are.." She trailed off as she focused in on the large plug of hair that came out in her brush. She dropped the hairbrush and ran her fingers through her hair. More came out in between her fingertip. She clutched her separated hair locks and screamed bloody murder until the entire house gathered in her room. Bulma, Trunks and her Grand parents all appeared at her door.

"What is it Hon-" Bulma started before releasing a heavy gasp in shock.


End file.
